The MBTA has been having it’s share of problems recently. They are actually going to shut down the entire Orange line for 30 days starting on August 19th so they can make repairs. One of the worst problems was when an Orange Line train caught fire on the Mystic River bridge on July 21st. That Orange line car went into service on January 1, 1981.

Here are some things that are YOUNGER than that Orange Line train!

• MTV, August 1, 1981

  MTV hit the airwaves for the first time with this video from The Buggles.

• Artificial human heart, December 2, 1982

  Dr. Robert Jarvik invented the world’s first artificial heart, the Jarvik 7.

  Robert Jarvik, MD

  Dr. Robert Jarvik is widely known as the inventor of the first permanent total artificial heart. In the mid-1970s, Robert Jarvik and fellow researchers at the University of Utah designed and developed the air-driven Jarvik-7 total artificial heart, the first to successfully sustain a dying patient with the goal of lifelong support.

   

• CD players, 1982

  In 1982, Sony released the world’s first commercial compact disc player, the CDP-101. You could get a CD player for just $674!

  Sony CDP-101 - StereoLife Magazine

  Even the longest journey has to begin with the first step. For Sony, one of these steps was to release the CDP-101 player, which launched the adventures of the Compact Disc format. So this is genesis - the first audiophile CD player.

• Camcorders, May 1983

  Sony was first to the consumer market with it’s Betamax format camcorder. This started the Beta/VHS competition and by 1985 Panasonic was favored with its VHS format.

  Betamovie - Wikipedia

  Betamovie Introduced May 1983[1] Encoding NTSC, PAL Recording media Betamax cassette PAL Up to 216 min. NTSC BI: Up to 100 min.BII: Up to 200 min.BIII: Up to 300 min. Write mechanism Single head Helical scan Playback Not available Intended usage Home movies Market Consumer/Amateur Developed by Sony Betamovie is the brand name for a range of consumer grade camcorders developed by Sony for the Betamax format.

• Prozac, 1987

  The antidepressant Prozac was introduced to the market in 1987. Most people who use the MBTA could probably use a prescription!

  Prozac | drug

  Prozac, trade name of fluoxetine hydrochloride, first of the class of antidepressant medications called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). It was introduced by Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company as a treatment for clinical depression in 1986. Prozac is also used to treat a variety of other psychiatric disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and bulimia nervosa.

• Nintendo Gameboy, 1989

  Nintendo was actually founded in 1889, it only took 100 years for Nintendo to release their personal gaming device the Gameboy, where users could play different games on different cartridges. They had games like Super Mario Land and Tetris.

   

• Chicken McNuggets, 1983

  Chicken McNuggets were conceived in the late 1970’s, but they couldn’t figure out how to get them to all of the different franchises around the country. They figured out the supply problems and Chicken McNuggets were available nationwide in 1983!

• The Space Shuttle, April 1981

  Columbia was the first space-worthy orbiter; it made its inaugural flight on April 12, 1981. NASA retired the Space Shuttles in 2011, but the MBTA is still using those Orange Line cars!

  STS-1 - Wikipedia

  COSPAR ID 1981-034A SATCAT no.

   

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